Flat-bed web-printing press.



PATBNTED JUNE l1, 1907.

H. r. BBGHMAN; PLAT BBD WBB PRINTING PRESS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 22, 1006.

UNITED STATES PATENT CITITICE.

HENRY F. BECHMAN, OF BATTLE CREEK, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TC DUPLEX PRINTING PRESS COMPANY, OF BATTLE CREEK, MICHIGAN, A CORPORA- TION OF MICHIGAN.

FLAT-BED WEB-PRINTING PRESS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 11, 190% Application filed August 22,1906. Serial No. 331,602.

exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which 1o form part of this specification.

This invention is an improvement in flatA bed reciprocating cylinder presses of the duplex type77 and its object is to provide a press of this character capable of printing I sixteen pages or less at each operation in one color, and eight pages or less in multi-color, and specificallyis an improvement upon the sixteen page duplex press shown in my application for patent filed August 27, 1906, Serial No. 332,169.

The objects of the present invention are to enable both sets of equaliziug devices and both sets of feeding and delivering devices to be arranged at one end of the press so that the feeding and delivering mechanisms can be directly intergeared and all the looping rollers or equalizers can be mounted on one frame and operated directly by the same set of cams, and to provide web guides whereby webs may be threaded through the press in a novel manner in order to be perfected in one color, or to be perfected in multi-color.

The invention will be fully understood from the accompanying drawings and summarized in the claims following the description of the machine illustrated in the drawings.

In said drawings-Figure l is a diagramniatical longitudinal sectional elevation of the machine' showing the arrangement of the printing, feeding, looping and delivering mechanisms, and a mode of threading two `webs through the press to be perfected in one color. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing a mode of threading one web through the press to be perfected in multi-color.

The press has four type beds 1, la, 2, 2a, which are arranged in two parallel planes, the beds l and 2 being arranged end to end in. one plane and the beds l, 2L being arranged end to end directly over and parallel With the beds l and 2, respectively.

Cylinders lb, I", 2b, 2C, co-act with the respective beds l, l, 2, 2 and are rolled back 55 and forth thercover by suitable mechanism as shown in my aforesaid application, for instance, the same being woll understood and needing no particular description herein.

The arrangement of the several web ma- 6o nipulating mechanisms can be more readily traced by following the course of the webs through the press as indicated in the drawings.

Referring to Fig. l, web IV is led in from 6 5 roll W" under gui de 3, to the feeding-in rolls 4., thence up over looping roller 5, down under guide roller 3b, over guide 3",between bed l, and cylinder lb, over guides 3 and 3, down under guide 3*', back below bed 2 to 7o guide 3s', up over guide 3, to guide 3i then between bed 2 and cylinder 2" over guide 3j then to guide 3k, then to guides o and 3mi down under looping roller 5, and up to delivery mechanism where it is split longi- 7 5 tudinaily and one-half w of the web passes directly over guide roller 30 to the former or folder F, at the end of the machine, and the other half yw'z of the web is turned under deflector 3P, thence under guide 3, and over 8o guide 3f to the folder F, the halves of the web being assembled at the folder. This assembling being old needs no particular description.

Another web IW is led in from a roll WV under guide 7 through a feeding mechanism 4 (similar to the feeding mechanism 4,) up over looping roller 5b, down under guide 7b, over guide 7, between bed l"L and cylinder l", up over guide 7*l to and over guide 7U, 9o and down under guide 7V, back under bed 2, (passing between the latter and web \V) to a guide 7 g up over guide 7h, back over guide 7i, between bed 2 and cylinder 2b to guide 7i to guide 7k, up over guide 7l to guide 71, then 95 down under looping roller 5", over a guide 7", to delivery mechanism 6, where the web maybe slit and one-half 'wij of it passes direct over a guide 7", to the folder E, while the other half of web w* is passed under a deroo llector 7D, under guido TQ and over guide 71' to the former, thus the two halves of web IW are assembled with the two halves of web IV at the former and folded together.

The guide rollers 3C and 3d travel with cyl- 1o 5 inder lb, similarly rollers 7, 7d travel with cylinder 1c rollers 33 and 3i travel with cylinder 2C and rollers 7i, 7j travel with cylinder 2b. rIhis arrangement of cylinders and double guides being such as are employed in the duplex press.

The feeding mechanism 4, is preferably constructed as in the duplex press and as shown in patent to J. L. COX, No. 478,503, dated July 5, 1892, and patent No. 680,111, August 6, 1901, and the feeding devices 4 4a are similarly constructed and they should be driven in unison, so that the webs will be fed into the press uniformly. The delivering devices 6 and 6a are also preferably constructed as described in said patents, andl are intergeared with each other and with the feeding mechanisms 4 and 4L so that the webs will be fed out of the press as fast as they are fed thereto. I

The looping rollers or equalizers 5d, 5a, 5b, 5C are adapted to take up the slack of the web during impressions and to shift the web forward after impressions, substantially described in said patents, wherein, however, but one set of looping rollers is employed; whereas in the present case, two sets of looping rollers are employed with the two webs. Both sets of looping rollers 5d, 5a, 5b, 5c are mounted on the same supports 5, which are operated by means of lever 5f and cam 5g operated in unison with the feed and'delivering mechanism substantially described in patent No. 501,456, May 11, 1893, so that the looping devices form virtually but one mechanism and operate as one. The operation of the press briefiy stated, is as follows:

Each web is constantly fed into and delivered from the press. The portion between the feed and delivery mechanisms is momentarily stopped by the vibrating action of the looping rollers during each printing period. The impression cylinders are rolled over the beds and make impressions from the type forms on the beds, thereafter the looping rollers shift the web forward, the proper length of web being moved through the press after each impression, as in the well known duplex press, and as described in said Cox patent. In the COX duplex press the product is only eight pages, because'but two beds and cylinders and one set of feeding, looping and delivering mechanisms are employed.

In my press I employ four beds and cylinders and two se/ts of feeding, looping and delivering mechanisms. It will be noted that in my press the web IV is not perfected in the superposed bed, but is printed on one side by a bed in one plane and on the other side by an adjacent bed in another plane, and that the web IN2 in the illustration shown in Fig. 1, is printed within a large loop of the web WV, and that the web W is passed between beds 1, la under bed 2, and over bed 2a while `the web W2 passes over both bed 1, 1a,

under both beds 2, 2a and again under bed 2a. Both webs are handled by one set of cams 5g. Preferably the guide rollers 3f, 7f, 3g, 7 g, 3h, 7h, 3k and 7k and 8e and 7e are positively rotated during the operation of the press to assist in forwarding the webs thereover.

Vhen the press is threaded as shown in Fig. 1, and both webs are full width a sixteen page paper can be produced. By using one wide and one narrow web, a paper of ten, twelve or fourteen pages can be produced. I/Vhen printing but eight pages or less, only one web need be used and the other beds and cylinders can be put out of operation ifdesired.

Vhen it is desired to print in multi-color a single web may be used, for instance, a web W can be led in over guide 3a through feeding devices 4, over looper 5a, under guide 3b over guide 3C between bed 1, and cylinder 1b over guide 3d and thence to guide 7J' between bed 2, and cylinder 2b, over guide 7i, back under guide 7h, up over guide 3h to guide 3i, down between cylinder 2c and bed 2a, up over guide 3j back to guide 7 d down between cylinder 1c and bed la, over guide 7 C, under guide 7b then up over guide 7m, down under looper 5C, over guide 7, to delivery 62L and thence out to the folder as above described. In this manner a web may be perfected in one color on beds 1,` 2a, and perfected in multi-color on beds 2, 1a. The press can be threaded in various other modes if desired, which is unnecessary to describe herein.

Some of the advantages of the present construction are the shortening of the press, because the feeding, looping and delivering devices all being at one end of the press as the two beds 1 and 2 are arranged end to end in one plane, and beds 1a, 2a, are arranged end to end in another plane parallel with the beds 1 and 2, the four beds can be brought close together and at the same time kept near the floor, hence less length of web will be required in the printing mechanism; also the feeding and delivering mechanisms being thus brought close together are very compact and can be driven with less lost motion therebetween also the looping rollers can all be actuated hom a single set of cams; the capacity of such press is double that of an ordinary duplex press.

Having described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a web printing press, the combination of four type beds and co-acting impression cylinders, said beds being arranged in two planes, two beds end to end in each plane and the beds in one plane being parallel with the beds in the other plane,-with a set of web feeding, looping vand delivering mechanisms at one end of the press, and web guides whereby one or more webs can be di- IOO IIO

rected between the beds and cylinders, substantially as described.

2. In a web printing press, the combination of four type beds and co-acting impression cylinders, said beds being arranged in two planes, two beds end to end in each plane and the beds in one plane being parallel with the beds in the underlying planewith two sets of web feeding, and delivering mechanisms and a single web looping mechanism at one end of the press, a folder, and web guides whereby a web may be directed through the press to the folder, substantially as described.

3. In a web printing press, the combination of four type beds and co-acting impression cylinders, said beds being arranged in two planes, two beds in each plane and the beds in one plane being parallel with the beds in the other plane, web feeding, and web delivering mechanisms, a single web-looping mechanism, and web guides whereby webs may be directed through the press, each web being printed on one side by a bed and cylinder near the feeding and delivering mechanisms and perfected by a bed and cylinder re'- mote from the feeding mechanisms.

4. In a web printing press, the combination of four type beds and co-acting impression cylinders, said beds being arranged in two planes, two beds end to end in each plane and the beds in one plane being parallel with the beds in the other plane g with two web feeding, and delivering mechanisms at one end of the press a single web-looping mechanism adapted to handle all the webs, and web guides whereby a web or webs may be directed through the press, so that each web may be printed on one side by a bed and cylinder near the feeding and delivering mechanisms and perfected by a bed and cylinder remote from the feeding mechanisms.

5. In a printing press, the combination of four printing couples arranged in two planes, the printing couples in each plane being end to end and closely adjacent, each couple comprising a stationary bed and a reciprocating impression cylinder, web feeding mechanisms, web delivering mechanisms and a single web looping mechanism at one end of the press, and web guides whereby a web may be carried from the feeding mechanism through two of the printing couples not in the saine plane, and whereby a second web may be directed through the remaining printing couples; with a folder adjacent the feeding and delivering mechanisms, and means for directing the webs from the delivering mechanisms into the folder.

6. In a printing press, the combination of four printing couples arranged in two planes, each couple comprising a stationary bed and a reciprocating impression cylinder the beds in each plane being arranged end to end, two sets of web feeding mechanisms, two sets of web delivering mechanisms and a single web looping mechanism at one end of the press, and web guides whereby a web may be carried from one feeding mechanism through two of the printing couples not in the same plane, and whereby a second web may be directed through the remaining printing couples 5 with means for operating the said feed-- ing and delivery mechanisms in unison, the said looping mechanism being operated by a single cam; a folder adjacent the feeding and delivering mechanisms, and means for directing the webs from the delivering mechanisms into the folder.

7. In a printing press, the combination of two pairs of parallel beds arranged end to end in a main frame, two pairs of reciprocating impression cylinders co-acting with the beds, web-feeding and delivering mechanism, and web-looping mechanism, means for directing a web of paper between the uppermost bed and cylinder in one pair to be printed, and then between the lowermost bed and cylinder in the other pair to be perfected, and means for directing a second web between the lower bed and cylinder of the first pair, and the upper bed and cylinder of the second pair to be perfected.

8. In a printing press, the combination of four printing couples arranged in two planes, eachA couple comprising a stationary bed and a reciprocating impression cylinder, two sets of web feeding mechanisms, two sets of web delivering mechanisms, and a single web looping mechanism at one end of the press, and web guides whereby a web may be carried from one feeding mechanism through two of the printing couples not in the same plane, and whereby a second web may be directed through the remaining printing cou ples, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I affix my signature in presencepf two witnesses.

HENRY F. BECHMAN.

In presence of F. IV. DUNNING, CHAS. A. GRAMES.

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